Practise the thinking. Keep the judgement.
足引きの
Kakinomoto no Hitomaro · 柿本人麿
足引きの
山鳥の尾の
しだり尾の
ながながし夜を
ひとりかもねむ
Historical kana
あしびきの
やまどりのをの
しだりをの
ながながしよを
ひとりかもねむ
Original English translation
Like the trailing, drooping tail of the mountain pheasant, this long, long night: must I sleep alone?
History and context
Traditionally attributed to Hitomaro, an important early waka poet. The pheasant image belongs to a poetic tradition associating the bird with separated mates; it prepares the solitary speaker’s complaint.
Imagery and wordplay
The repeated length of the bird’s tail becomes the felt length of a lonely night.
Shūishū · 拾遺集恋三778
Japanese text and historical kana follow the linked Wikisource transcription. Classical poems can have variant spellings and wording in different anthologies. The source anthology reference identifies the version represented in this collection, not necessarily its earliest surviving text. English prose translations and reading notes are original interpretations; some wordplay permits more than one reading.